We should all be able to agree on at least one thing:
children should never have to go hungry. That's why a bipartisan Congress passed legislation that provides federal funding to keep children fed during the summer, in between school seasons. This money is available for all U.S. states to receive and make use of. All they have to do is accept it.
But many Republican states are outright rejecting this assistance for kids. Why? One governor said: "I don't believe in welfare. Sometimes money isn't the solution" to children's hunger. Another said that this food assistance "might increase obesity."
For a political party that is supposedly so concerned with "family values" and children's lives, this is a lousy way to show it. Sign the petition to demand that all U.S. states accept this federal funding and keep children properly cared for!A full 13 Republican-led states are refusing to distribute these summer grocery cards to children. This will keep
10 million children stuck in a cycle of hunger - representing around one-third of all eligible children across the country.
Luckily, at least one Republican governor has had a change of heart. After Jim Pillen of Nebraska heard from a group of low-income children in his state, he reconsidered his previous hard-line position. Eventually, he accepted the federal money and attributed it to hearing these children's first-person stories of survival.
As Governor Pillen said: "This isn't about me winning. This is about coming to the conclusion of what is best for our kids."
This should be the position that every governor in the U.S. takes!As a society, we already agree that providing for children is important. We send them to public schools for free and ensure they can ride the bus there for free. Why would we draw the line at feeding our children? Everyone should be able to agree on this!
Ending childhood hunger shouldn't be a political issue. Yet right now,
13 Republican governors would rather see children go hungry than accept money being handed to them by a bipartisan collection of lawmakers in Congress.
Sign the petition to call on the governors of Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, lowa, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming to do the right thing and put children's health and wellbeing first!